Giving Back is a Great Joy for Marilyn Wurzburger
From left: Marilyn Wurzburger and 2003 Richard & Marilyn Wurzburger Organ Award recipient So-Yi Ahn
Not too many ASU employees can remember when parking cost $5 a year - but Special Collections Librarian Marilyn Wurzburger can.
"It was the same price to 'park' your horse many years earlier," she said. For the sake of convenience, she now chooses to take the bus to work. "If I had to drive everyday, I would have had to quit," she quipped.
Wurzburger began working at ASU in 1960. During her 45-year career, she has witnessed the university grow five times larger than its size when she started as a catalog librarian in the Matthews Library. She became the head of Special Collections in 1974. In 2002, she began working three-quarter time and gained her current status as Special Collections librarian.
There currently are more than 45,000 books within ASU's Special Collections, which are available for everyone's enjoyment. The Doris and Marc Patten Collection, for instance, includes about 150 books on early gardening and herbals that date back as early as 1485. Several pieces of personal correspondence including manuscripts and memorabilia are available from late 20th-century personalities such as author William S. Burroughs and former "Rat Pack" member and actor Peter Lawford - to name a few. In addition to all of the rare books and resources available within the Special Collections, it's the boundless resources that the university encompasses as a whole, which makes Wurzburger a dedicated employee.
"I love the university atmosphere...it's part of the reason why I wanted to give back to education," she said.
While her zeal for rare books has been the primary focus during her ASU career, Wurzburger interests stretch beyond the stacks. Her mother, whom she describes as a talented singer, used to take Wurzburger to her performances as a child. A musician herself, Wurzburger has always loved playing the flute and also plays the piccolo.
It was her love of music and relationship with Tom Fay, who was the Herberger College of Fine Arts director of development in the mid-1990s, which led her to establish two scholarships that support students within the School of Music: The Richard and Marilyn Wurzburger String Award and The Richard & Marilyn Wurzburger Organ Award. The string award was established in 1996 and the organ award followed in 1999. Preference is given to students of any class level who major in strings or organ performance. The scholarships are awarded annually and are renewable if students reapply and remain in good academic standing.
Easing the financial burdens of these aspiring artists is important to Wurzbruger, but she also has a genuine interest in the students whom she is helping. She makes it a point to try and attend the annual Herberger College of Fine Arts scholarship teas, so she has the opportunity to meet the scholarship recipients. Homer Ferguson III, the first recipient of the organ scholarship, is someone whom she keeps in touch with.
"Homer once told me that it was the Wurzburger scholarship money that helped him make the decision to pursue his musical education at ASU. That made me feel great that I was able to help someone," she said. "It's important to give back and support what you believe in."
 |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |